The Indiana University football team has the chance to redefine the word never today. As in the Hoosiers never beat Michigan.
Just because IU has not defeated the Wolverines since 1987 doesn’t mean it won’t happen, can’t happen and might not even be a surprise if it does happen.
It’s not as if the Hoosiers are running around Bloomington predicting they are going to be playing Hail to the Victors before dark. But since IU is ranked No. 13 in the country with a 2-0 record and Michigan is ranked No. 23 in the country with a 1-1 record this would be one Saturday when the Hoosiers should be favored. They are not. That’s the deal until you rewrite history, or write fresh history.
“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge,” said IU coach Tom Allen of coming out of this week’s Big Ten scramble still unbeaten.
These are the new-look Hoosiers, the time-has-come Hoosiers Allen has constructed and there seem to be no breathers on the schedule, no easy games, and always someone waiting in ambush to test if IU is for real.
Indiana has to peel away fan doubters one by one, cut through layers by building a winning streak before developing a solid core of believers. It has begun, though. By beating Penn State and Rutgers the Hoosiers attracted enough nationwide attention to gain that No. 13 ranking in the The Associated Press top 25 poll.
Allen’s selling job to fans and to his players is acknowledging Michigan’s long period of domination, but noting that this is a new game, an as-yet-played 60 minutes, an opportunity.
It is 0-0 right now.
“It doesn’t matter what the name on the helmet is,” said IU junior linebacker Micah McFadden. “It’s what we do.”
Meaning execute well on offense and contain on defense.
Michigan is always formidable. The Wolverines have a century of tradition backing up their dashes out of the locker room. But every year is not identical and this is not the same-old Indiana crew. Time has been invested in remaking the Hoosiers and this is the kind of hunger games moment they have been awaiting.
Put it this way, this gang has such a gargantuan appetite that if a buffet was on the schedule the owners would run to lock the doors and flip a “Closed” sign to keep them out.
Certainly, when IU players talk about Michigan they don’t sound scared, or worried. They sound more blase, as if Michigan is just another opponent, not one that has been a bully to the Hoosiers for longer than any of the players have been alive. This, is, of course, just how Allen wants them to think.
“I feel good about the guys’ mindset,” Allen said the other day in a press conference.
Prepare and perform is what he wants from his players, what he expects, and what they have done. If ever a coach and a program was ripe to follow the cliche rule of one game at a time, it is Indiana. The Hoosiers have no right to get ahead of themselves after two weeks of play and would be foolish to do that.
Allen is surely the voice of reason in the room, the one who is as satisfied and pleased as any of the players, but is also the guiding light whose job is to stay cool.
“It’s about achieving your goals one game at a time,” he said.
Those goals include winning a Big Ten regular-season title and right now Indiana is tied for first place. Those goals include gaining national respect and being ranked in the top 15. That shows Indiana has put itself in the conversation as a team that cannot be overlooked.
It was imperative for credibility Indiana beat Rutgers last week after upsetting Penn State. It would be something special for the Hoosiers to beat Michigan.
“We know the history,” Allen said. But he has his eyes on the big picture, too. “It’s about us continuing to move this program to where we want it to be.”
Things have already progressed to the stage that if Indiana fans pick up the next day’s newspaper and read a headline that says “IU football beats Michigan,” they won’t think it’s a typographical error. But they will surely let out a little whoop and be stuck with a grin on their faces for 24 hours.